Was 9-11 a conspiracy?

In December, 2001 I visited “Ground Zero”–the site of the World Trade Center ruins in New York.

The rubble was still smoking, some 3 months after those buildings collapsed.

It was really heavy being there and seeing the aftermath. And really amazing seeing the street memorials people had set up for dead loved ones.

I used to be find conspiracy theories really… compelling. For example, 10 years ago I would really buy into the idea that a tiny group of mega-rich people or corporations are the ones who are really in charge of the US government.

Now, I find the idea that any small group could keep a secret for years, decades, or longer to be kind of laughable. And if a small group–no matter how powerful–can’t keep a secret for any length of time, then how could they orchestrate some much more complicated nefarious act like… rigging an election, controlling a government, or blowing up some buildings in Manhattan?

Longtime list members will remember that my car with the useless roof rack is a 2014 Volkswagen TDI station wagon. This poses a small challenge to my “small group can’t keep a secret” theory, as apparently some group within VW kept their emissions test cheating secret from at least 2008 until they were discovered recently. But discovered they were…

Another thing that sometimes feels like a conspiracy but isn’t is commoditization.

What does it look like to sell your services in a commodity market?

Declining prices and profit margins

Increasing competition

Lowered barriers to entry

You may or may not be facing the pressures listed above. The market position you’re currently in may be a temporary bubble with strong prices, low competition, and high barriers to entry.

Platforms that are early on in the technology adoption lifecycle and the platform’s popularity is growing faster than the supply of supporting professional services

Thousands if not millions of niche markets where someone with the right skills can deliver strong value

Some of those niche markets will not be experiencing a temporary price bubble because they are based on evergreen needs or persistent problems.

These are the markets I am trying to help you discover, validate, and dominate.

The design process for this online course I’m building is going well. Janelle is digging deep into what learning goals are most important for the first version and what content will produce the best results for people taking the course.

I’m hoping that the course can be a super-effective self-guided version of what I teach in my $700/mo mentoring program. Part of that is a research process that helps you identify niche markets where your skills provide outsized value. Markets where you don’t have to worry about commoditization driving down prices and encouraging your clients to hire undifferentiated competition instead of you.